The “New” Guardhouse and Adjacent Barracks

Fort Laramie’s “new” guardhouse, built in 1876 on the ruins of the original 1849-1850 guardhouse, was the last and most comfortable of the post’s three guardhouses. Shown in an 1887 view, it had spacious guard quarters and prison rooms, and it held relatively few prisoners; in 1885, inmates averaged less than three out of every hundred soldiers on the post. Also visible are the two-company adobe barracks with a wooden porch, built in 1866 on the right, and the three-company frame barracks, erected in 1868 on the left. Only foundation ruins of these buildings remain.

Wyoming · United States